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WEEK OF OCTOBER 31, 2024
VOLUME 158 | ISSUE 44
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Golden Library offers a taste of Día de los Muertos traditions
Golden considering blackout dates between summer events City staff recommends continuing satellite parking, shuttle services for larger events BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
the holiday every year, baking pan de muerto and decorating calaveras. While many visit cemeteries at night for Día de los Muertos, she recalled going during the day and decorating her family members’ graves for the holiday. While she can’t celebrate Día de los Muertos the same way in Colorado, as she has no loved ones’ burial sites to visit here, she wants to pass on the holiday’s “beautiful tradition” to her 4-year-old son. “You celebrate their lives,” she said of the deceased. “It’s nice to think that they come (to you) that night, and are happy with the food and drink you left for them.”
With so many big events in downtown Golden throughout the summer, city officials are considering implementing blackout dates. This would prevent those applying for special event permits from having events the same weekend and/or on consecutive weekends based on other applicants who’ve been approved already or a pre-established calendar of summer events. City officials said this could provide some relief for Golden’s busy downtown corridor and give the parks and people time to recover from busierthan-usual summer weekends. No final decision has been made, but several City Councilors said Oct. 8 they would support that idea. Councilor Patty Evans said how, other than the Golden Farmers Market, she “would be fine with not doing events two weeks in a row” in the summer to provide some relief to the downtown corridor. Councilors Paul Haseman and Lisa Vitry also said they’d support blackout dates to prevent events on consecutive weekends. During an Oct. 8 work session, Evans and her colleagues asked city staff and committee members to recommend how blackout dates would work for next summer, whether it would be by dates only or whether location, event size or other factors should be considered. Along with blackout dates, city staff members also recommended that Golden formalize satellite parking agreements before next summer and require Tier 1 events — the largest of Golden’s events — to share costs for shuttles.
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Karla Forster and her son William, 4, put together a paper marigold during a Día de los Muertos activity Oct. 17 at the Golden Library. Marigolds are among the traditional decorations for the Day of the Dead, as they’re believed to guide souls from their burial places to their loved ones’ ofrendas. PHOTOS BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Despite its name, the Day of the Dead is more a celebration of life. On Nov. 1-2, people across Colorado and beyond will celebrate their deceased loved ones in the traditional Día de los Muertos. Locals started preparing this month as Jefferson County Public Library and the Denver-based Museo de las Américas — the Museum of the Americas — co-hosted a Día de los Muertos program at Golden, Conifer and other branches through Oct. 27. The holiday originated in Mexico thousands of years ago, and has evolved and
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spread to other countries. While celebrations look a little different from place to place, Museo staff emphasized how it’s about taking time to honor deceased loved ones with special foods and decorations like calaveras de azúcar — sugar skulls. Frances Muñoz, a Museo teacher, explained how people build altars called ofrendas for the holiday. They put up their loved ones’ pictures, they make their favorite foods and drinks, and then they visit their burial sites and celebrate the day as if their loved ones were physically there. They share stories, sing songs and “remember the good memories,” she said. She added: “It’s not meant to be a sad holiday.”
Día de los Muertos has become more well-known in the United States thanks to movies like “Coco” and “The Book of Life,” Muñoz said, and many across Colorado celebrate it too. The Museo is hosting its own celebration Nov. 1-2 with folklórico dancers, a La Catrina contest and more. Additionally, cemeteries like Crown Hill and Mount Olivet often host Día de los Muertos events. On Oct. 17, young Goldenites and their parents enjoyed decorating their calaveras with paint and sequins, as well as making paper marigolds and cutting up papel picado ahead of the holiday. Golden’s Karla Forster grew up in Mexico and observed
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